Driving Question

How do American advertising agencies establish ethos, pathos and logos to persuade their target demographic?

How do we create identity around the brands we buy?

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John Berger once wrote in Ways of Seeing, “The child looks and recognizes before he can speak.” Humans begin to forge meaning and build identity from images before they have an understanding of the image, its context, connotations or intention. In this way, images presented to young humans are immensely impactful in their own identity formation.

We are going to deconstruct American advertising and the images presented to try and understand more about how visual rhetoric works to persuade an audience. Further, we will examine the effect some archetypal, American images might have on childhood identity development. We will conclude by deconstructing our own identity formation and hypothesizing about the branding that aided us or hindered us in the formation of our own identities.

After we have reflected and reviewed, we will work in teams to establish a core value or brand ethic that will be expressed in our advertising. Each team with choose a target demographic and flesh out all characteristics of that demographic that might be used to persuade them of the credibility of the product. Then the group will construct a print advertisement with images that establish ethos, pathos and logos that persuades the target demographic. Once the advertisement is created, students will write individual speeches that use rhetoric that appeals to the audience to persuade them of the credibility of the product.

American Rhetoric Calendar

Unit Title:

America’s Visual Rhetoric

For Students:

11th Grade

Length:

3 Weeks

Course:

American Literature

Unit Launch

We start with a close analysis of the first chapter of  John Berger’s book, Ways of Seeing. We inquire and discuss in small groups to try and develop opinions about how people create personal ways of seeing as they develop. We then think about our own development, our own way of seeing, and we continue to reflect on our own way of seeing and interpreting images as we move through the unit.

Ways of Seeing Chapter 1Waysofseeingcvr

Midpoint Check

5 rhetorical analyses of American advertisements

Culminating Experience

Create an advertisement that communicates your group’s core value and provides American culture with a product that interests your target demographic.

  • Students will have to come to consensus in small groups on a core value that will become their brand ethic.
  • They will create a product that represents that core value.
  • Students will choose an audience and discuss how to best create rhetoric that will persuade that particular audience about their product’s credibility
  • Students will individually write a rhetorically charged speech, directed at their particular audience, which persuades them of the credibility of the product.

You will present your advertisement to the class next Thursday

You will read one of your group’s speeches

The audience will vote on whether or not you persuaded them

If they are not persuaded, then all members of the group will be docked points

GO BIG!

300 Word Persuasive Speech

SELL YOUR PRODUCT to your AUDIENCE!!!

Your audience is in front of you. Right in front of your face. You have their attention for 30 seconds and you need to persuade them, using ethos, pathos, and logos, that you have a credible product that they couldn’t go on living without.

How will you use rhetoric to persuade your audience of the credibility of your product?

HOW TO WRITE THE SPEECH

Use concession / refutation to show the worth of your product over others in the market? 100 words

What are the best components of the product?

What will you emphasize?

What will you understate?

50 words
What imagery / pathos will you use in your writing to connect the product to the lives of the audience? 50 words

How will the consumer be bettered because they purchase the product?

Personally?

Physically?

Socially?

Emotionally?

Differentiation (e.g. Special Education, English Language Learners)

Some students feel more comfortable working independently.

Some students have the help of an aide.

Some students have a lower word requirement for the speech.

All students can turn in the assignment whenever it is done and can retry the assignment ad infinitum.

Challenge: 

Create an advertisement that communicates your group’s core value and provides American culture with a product that interests your core demographic

Research:

Choose 5 of the 20 advertisements provided as inspirational models

Collaboration

Consensus building: Your group needs to decide on a core value and every person has to agree on its validity

Turn In Box Assignments:

  • Rhetorical Triangle Examples
    1. Create 5 rhetorical triangles, one for each advertisement you choose
  • Demographic Analysis
    1. Define your core demographic
    2. Why are they your target audience?
    3. What will persuade that target audience?
    4. What rhetorical choices will you make to persuade your target audience?
  • Rhetorical triangle of your advertisement
    1. Establish ethos that makes your audience feel the product is credible
    2. Establish pathos that provides your audience an emotion that will persuade them to believe in your product
    3. Establish logos that makes your audience understand the effect of your product

(CWE)  A 300 word, persuasive speech selling your product

Convince your audience of the credibility of your product by using pathos filled language and imagery. Sell the product to your target demographic. Speak directly to that demographic. Make certain that your language will persuade your demographic to believe in the credibility of your product.

300 Word Persuasive Speech

SELL YOUR PRODUCT to your AUDIENCE!!!

Your audience is in front of you. Right in front of your face. You have their attention for 30 seconds and you need to persuade them, using ethos, pathos, and logos, that you have a credible product that they couldn’t go on living without.

How will you use rhetoric to persuade your audience of the credibility of your product?

HOW TO WRITE THE SPEECH

Use concession / refutation to show the worth of your product over others in the market?

100 words

What are the best components of the product?

What will you emphasize?

What will you understate?

50 words

What imagery / pathos will you use in your writing to connect the product to the lives of the audience?

50 words

How will the consumer be bettered because they purchase the product?

Personally?
Physically?

Socially?

Emotionally?

Standard Argument Rubric

American Rhetoric Student Sample

 

Teacher Reflection

Here’s what I really enjoy about this unit….

I’ve enjoyed watching the students deconstruct advertisements and question their rhetorical intention. We’ve talked about how every ad has a core value and we’ve tried to break down the imagery and uncover the core value. This discussion process, and watching the students engage the process in small groups has been rewarding, as it is progressing their understanding of the way they brand themselves and build identity from advertisements and consumerism.

Here’s what I’m working on making better about this unit….

I’d like to find marketing experts who could provide students a more authentic kick start to the unit.

The more students have an understanding about domain specific language used in marketing the more authentic their projects will be.

Authentic Problem

How do American advertising agencies establish ethos, pathos and logos to persuade their target demographic?

How do we create identity around the brands we buy?

Students will inquire into how the brands they associate with begin to build their identity.

Authentic Assessment

Students will assess each ad and decide whether or not the ad used rhetorical appeals persuasively. This student assessment factors into the overall grade for each group.

Student Voice

Students choose the ads they analyze, the ad they create, their groups, and the content for their speech.

Expertise

We use John Berger’s philosophical understandings to start the unit.

Personal cultural contexts provide students an authentic understanding of a given demographic, so their own knowledge about culture propels them to advance and have expertise in this unit.

Culturally Responsive Instruction

Students choose the advertisements analyzed based upon their own understanding of cultural relevancy.

Choice of what language to use to persuade their chosen demographic.

Cultural contexts provide students the understanding of a given demographic, so their own knowledge about culture propels them to advance and have expertise in this unit.

Collaboration

Students work in groups to analyze ads, come up with the visual rhetoric and to establish the content for their speech

Academic Discourse

Students engage in discussion around ethos, pathos and logos. The ads they create use those appeals to persuade the target demographic.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W .9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W .9-10. la Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W .9-10.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

About the Authors

My name is Ian McCauley Duncan.  I have been working with kids in a variety of settings for the last fourteen years.  I started working with at-risk youth in downtown Seattle while enrolled at the University of Washington where I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Comparative History of Ideas.  Upon graduating I began working with special ed. populations and at risk youth as the transition coordinator at Interlake high school.  During that time I also home schooled Autistic students, worked at the psychiatric wing of Children’s Hospital, ran an after school program for at risk youth in Seattle and completed my Masters degree in Secondary Education.  Five years ago I completed my National Board Teaching Certification.  My past experiences have helped me to develop what I hope is a progressive, diverse framework for working with kids.  I hope that my current work in the Bellevue school district as an English  teacher is completed with energy and compassion.


The Bellevue School District acknowledges that we learn, work, live and gather on the Indigenous Land of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Duwamish and Snoqualmie Tribes. We thank these caretakers of this land, who have lived and continue to live here, since time immemorial.